Torchlight II is now available, offering the second installment in this action/RPG series from Runic Games, a developer that boasts some of the creators of the original Diablo (there's an interview on IncGamers with Matt Uelmen talking about the old days of Blizzard North). Joystiq has word from Runic CEO Max Schaefer that the company is working on an OS X edition of the game, but that they are reconsidering plans for an MMO version of Torchlight. Here's his convoluted explanation: "We're waiting to do the Mac port of Torchlight 2, and fix whatever launch issues we have, and then decide after we've had a good night's sleep or three. It is likely that nothing that would be called an MMO is the next thing we do, though, but that's not 100 percent certain." Travis Baldree elaborates on Reddit: "I'll be frank, we have no plans to jump into that right now. The landscape is a little different than a few years ago, and creating the amount of content we did for Torchlight 2 was a supreme effort with a team this size. Taking on an MMO immediately afterward is not our current desire." Torchlight II is available on the Official Website and through Steam, and they each also offer a playable demo (thanks Frans), though there are no details on what this includes. Here's how the game is described:

The award-winning action RPG is back, bigger and better than ever! Torchlight II takes you back into the quirky, fast-paced world of bloodthirsty monsters, bountiful treasures, and sinister secrets - and, once again, the fate of the world is in your hands!

Torchlight II captures all the flavor and excitement of the original game - while expanding the world and adding the features players wanted most, including online and LAN co-op multiplayer. Torchlight II is fast, fun, and filled to the brim with action and loot. Adventure solo or online with your friends!

RollinThundr wrote on Sep 22, 2012, 01:07:I think a major reason TLII reminds people so much of Diablo 2 aside from the obvious being the same genre type of game, is it's like the ripped half the music and sound effects right from Diablo 2. Seriously listen to the musical arrangement during act 1, It's like a rearranged Diablo 2 Act 1 with some of the melody actually identical in spots.

Same thing with alot of the spell sounds/contact sounds, pretty much identical to Diablo 2. It's like after these guys got the axe at Blizz north they took the source code for D2 with em to reuse later

It's the same sound designers who worked on Diablo 1 and Diablo 2. Many of the sound effects were actually stock sound footage and the music is just Matt Uleman's style. It's a budget priced game that competes with Diablo 3 on features and gameplay, I am pretty happy with it.

Oh no I realize that, just something I noticed as playing, not trying to hate on the game, it's pretty good for a 20 dollar title.

Got my Engineer up to 20 and still having a blast. Good visual and sound feedback on abilities, great mix of abilities and lots of room for depth and customization. I really like the attribute implementation in this, theres enough room for customization without it being super punishing if you mess up. They got the right mix of everything. I see a lot of people saying the Berserker is one of the best melee class designs so I'm going to have to check that out. Mods will only make this better, I can't wait to see some new class designs from the community.

*No modding allowed in D3--at all, whatsoever. Horrible management decision. As an example, Skyrim wouldn't be half the game that it is without the community mods that have flourished for the game. T2 will, of course, allow and encourage modders, but D3 will not allo community mods.

This is just a by product of the online only functionality. Diablo 2 didn't really allow mods, users were just familiar enough with Blizzards packing/file formats to play around. I don't think they ever really were interested in modding for Diablo games, I don't recall them ever publishing user creation tools or an SDK like they did with the Warcraft games.

I agree with you about the rest, it's a great little game that gets a lot of stuff right that Diablo 3 did wrong. A few haters and sycophants who want to push their own game will troll but Torchlight 2 delivered on the devs promises, its a big improvement from the first game and more importantly picks up the slack where Diablo 3 fell short.

RollinThundr wrote on Sep 22, 2012, 01:07:I think a major reason TLII reminds people so much of Diablo 2 aside from the obvious being the same genre type of game, is it's like the ripped half the music and sound effects right from Diablo 2. Seriously listen to the musical arrangement during act 1, It's like a rearranged Diablo 2 Act 1 with some of the melody actually identical in spots.

Same thing with alot of the spell sounds/contact sounds, pretty much identical to Diablo 2. It's like after these guys got the axe at Blizz north they took the source code for D2 with em to reuse later

It's the same sound designers who worked on Diablo 1 and Diablo 2. Many of the sound effects were actually stock sound footage and the music is just Matt Uleman's style. It's a budget priced game that competes with Diablo 3 on features and gameplay, I am pretty happy with it.

And that subconscious sound is what gives many people who played the originals their euphoria in the honeymoon stage of this game. I've been around long enough not to go gushy at the honeymoon stage, I usually can get a feel for how the longterm enjoyment plays out, and I'm usually right.

Yes it's a decent game. But it's very simple game -- few skills but lots of visible stats (which makes it seem more than it is), and pretty much what you'd expect from a generic arpg.

I compare all new arpg's to PoE, because PoE takes many new directions and concepts and does it damn well -- something rarely seen in the industry - most AAA and many indies go the 'tried and true' because that's what traditionally pays the bills.

I've been playing PoE for over 8 months now, and I'm not tired of it, plenty of characters I haven't built, gameplay always as fresh as an arpg can get.

RollinThundr wrote on Sep 22, 2012, 01:07:I think a major reason TLII reminds people so much of Diablo 2 aside from the obvious being the same genre type of game, is it's like the ripped half the music and sound effects right from Diablo 2. Seriously listen to the musical arrangement during act 1, It's like a rearranged Diablo 2 Act 1 with some of the melody actually identical in spots.

Same thing with alot of the spell sounds/contact sounds, pretty much identical to Diablo 2. It's like after these guys got the axe at Blizz north they took the source code for D2 with em to reuse later

It's the same sound designers who worked on Diablo 1 and Diablo 2. Many of the sound effects were actually stock sound footage and the music is just Matt Uleman's style. It's a budget priced game that competes with Diablo 3 on features and gameplay, I am pretty happy with it.

RollinThundr wrote on Sep 22, 2012, 01:07:I think a major reason TLII reminds people so much of Diablo 2 aside from the obvious being the same genre type of game, is it's like the ripped half the music and sound effects right from Diablo 2. Seriously listen to the musical arrangement during act 1, It's like a rearranged Diablo 2 Act 1 with some of the melody actually identical in spots.

Same thing with alot of the spell sounds/contact sounds, pretty much identical to Diablo 2. It's like after these guys got the axe at Blizz north they took the source code for D2 with em to reuse later.

At any rate for 20 bucks it's not bad. Visually it's terrible but eh it's a budget game.

You are exactly right! But what always seems to be forgotten in these discussions is that Runic consists of many developers who have already proven themselves by helping to create many games before T1 and T2. Runic may be an "indie" company, but it isn't staffed by "indie developers" by a long shot...;) The Runic developers include three developers, I believe, who originally founded Blizzard North and were on the development teams for both D1 and D2...! So, if anyone has the know-how and the ethical right to develop a game very similar spiritually to D2 and D2, it would be Runic, imo.

I really doubt there's a single song in the entire T2 sound track that directly copies and rips off a song or songs from the original games (that would be copyright infringement)--but what I think they've done is simply imitated the *style* of the music in D2 for T2, as opposed to the music itself, note for note. As for the sound effects--I noticed that they are similar, but certainly a bit different from the D2 sound effects. Even so, you are right in that both the sound track and sound effects scream "Diablo 2"!

It is very effective and it does put one in the "Diablo 2" mood...if such a thing actually exists..;) For some reason, D2 was perceived as a unique and highly original game at its release; so unique that lots of people who played T2 could instantly recognize the style of the music and sound effects as coming directly from the original two Diablo games. Considering how long it has been since I played Diablo 2, I think it's remarkable that we remember those games so well! There are dozens of good games I own or have owned and played over the years that I would be hard-pressed to identify by their sound tracks and sound effects, even though I may have loved the games! That's a great tribute to the earlier Diablo games--that we recall them so well.

I don't know what you mean about "terrible graphics"--they look very nice to me. The only graphics I did not care for were the cut-scenes (a different style from the game's art)--but at least they don't interfere with the gameplay. Aside from that it's the gameplay that I cherish most in a game--any game--and T2 brings that home dramatically. I think the game graphics are fine.

Four things I don't like about Diablo 3 that T2 handled far better:

*$20 is a great price for a new game--any game--if the game is any good, that is. (If a game is poor then even $20 MSRPs won't help it sell.) Not only is the cost light on our pocketbooks, it also will mean Runic will earn far more money than would have been true had they tried to get $60 a pop, because they will sell many more copies and also because of the very reasonable price tag, the game will be pirated far less than would have been the case at $60 a pop.

*Always-on Internet connection required even for the single-player version of Diablo 3. Terrible management strategy decision. T2 single player doesn't even look at the Internet...;)

*No modding allowed in D3--at all, whatsoever. Horrible management decision. As an example, Skyrim wouldn't be half the game that it is without the community mods that have flourished for the game. T2 will, of course, allow and encourage modders, but D3 will not allo community mods.

*the Auction Houses. In rpgs, even arpgs, the idea is to uncover special, really cool weapons and armor, among other things, in the very natural act of simply playing the game and exploring! The auction houses cheapen this concept if they do not downright hurt the game itself. I can't believe, knowing that, that some people would actually rather fork over *real money* to an AH to secure certain virtual items, instead of playing the game and finding them themselves--seems to me to be pretty much a kind of cheat that Blizzard has created in the game. Less objectionable is the second AH, because it only deals in in-game gold. But, no matter, it still takes exotic "loot" out of the game and puts in an Auction House. How can that not hurt the game?

It is well known that I do not make mistakes--so if you should happen across a mistake in anything I have written, be assured that I did not write it!

Actually, I wish you wouldn't say that...;) It just shows how you've become conditioned to think that "$60" is "the right price" to pay for a game of decent to outstanding quality. I think Runic has got it right, though, because in charging $20 they are bound to sell many more copies than they would have sold at $60, and so they are bound to make a lot more money with the game than they would have at a $60 per-copy MSRP. Piracy will be greatly reduced, too, from what it would have been with a $60 MSRP. People have got to quit responding like Pavlov's dogs when they hear a bell...;) Runic is ahead of the curve with their pricing metrics--they've got the right approach where so many game developers don't have a clue--which is a pity for them and us.

The musical Soundtrack is so effing beautiful, it is actually overpowering to this cartoony like game, to a point, but I shall let it play in TL2, and never ever bring that into Diablo3, shame on those that consider this.

I was very pleased about the fact that the game itself doesn't look "cartoonish" at all! The cut-scenes are all cartoon, though, but thankfully they aren't worth our attention in the scheme of the game.

the isometric view is zoomed out a touch at 1080p, but it is a very welcomed change, albeit the small monster appearance, I haven't seen the rest, but so far they looked a little translucent

Use the mouse wheel and zoom in about as close as you like. Apparently, you haven't done that yet. I'm playing at 1920x1200 and the resolution *and* the UI scale beautifully--you can even scale the UI independently of the game--I found that at my resolution 80% scaling on the UI is perfect for me.

edit: Forgot to say my favorite part, this game is like Dungeon Seige 1 , but so much better! THANK YOU FOR THIS!

Dungeon Siege had far more of story than T2, and wasn't particularly Diablo1/2-like at all, but I love T2 because it reminds me so much of D2 which I thoroughly enjoyed on my 3dfx V3, IIRC...;) I love the music and the atmosphere of T2.

The one thing I recall about Dungeon Siege was that you could rotate the camera on the x axis 360-degrees around your character/party--you couldn't rotate on the Y axis completely--but it made Dungeon Siege seem a lot closer to a real 3d game than the frozen isometric view that T1 and T2, and probably D2, as well, are limited to.

Thanks for reminding me that the next "old" game I'll have to buy when it comes out--say on GoG.com--is the original Dungeon Siege. I think it was the best in the series, and that the franchise went downhill quickly after the first one.

I think a major reason TLII reminds people so much of Diablo 2 aside from the obvious being the same genre type of game, is it's like the ripped half the music and sound effects right from Diablo 2. Seriously listen to the musical arrangement during act 1, It's like a rearranged Diablo 2 Act 1 with some of the melody actually identical in spots.

Same thing with alot of the spell sounds/contact sounds, pretty much identical to Diablo 2. It's like after these guys got the axe at Blizz north they took the source code for D2 with em to reuse later.

At any rate for 20 bucks it's not bad. Visually it's terrible but eh it's a budget game.

Actually, I wish you wouldn't say that...;) It just shows how you've become conditioned to think that "$60" is "the right price" to pay for a game of decent to outstanding quality. I think Runic has got it right, though, because in charging $20 they are bound to sell many more copies than they would have sold at $60, and so they are bound to make a lot more money with the game than they would have at a $60 per-copy MSRP. Piracy will be greatly reduced, too, from what it would have been with a $60 MSRP. People have got to quit responding like Pavlov's dogs when they hear a bell...;) Runic is ahead of the curve with their pricing metrics--they've got the right approach where so many game developers don't have a clue--which is a pity for them and us.

The musical Soundtrack is so effing beautiful, it is actually overpowering to this cartoony like game, to a point, but I shall let it play in TL2, and never ever bring that into Diablo3, shame on those that consider this.

I was very pleased about the fact that the game itself doesn't look "cartoonish" at all! The cut-scenes are all cartoon, though, but thankfully they aren't worth our attention in the scheme of the game.

the isometric view is zoomed out a touch at 1080p, but it is a very welcomed change, albeit the small monster appearance, I haven't seen the rest, but so far they looked a little translucent

Use the mouse wheel and zoom in about as close as you like. Apparently, you haven't done that yet. I'm playing at 1920x1200 and the resolution *and* the UI scale beautifully--you can even scale the UI independently of the game--I found that at my resolution 80% scaling on the UI is perfect for me.

edit: Forgot to say my favorite part, this game is like Dungeon Seige 1 , but so much better! THANK YOU FOR THIS!

Dungeon Siege had far more of story than T2, and wasn't particularly Diablo1/2-like at all, but I love T2 because it reminds me so much of D2 which I thoroughly enjoyed on my 3dfx V3, IIRC...;) I love the music and the atmosphere of T2.

The one thing I recall about Dungeon Siege was that you could rotate the camera on the x axis 360-degrees around your character/party--you couldn't rotate on the Y axis completely--but it made Dungeon Siege seem a lot closer to a real 3d game than the frozen isometric view that T1 and T2, and probably D2, as well, are limited to.

Thanks for reminding me that the next "old" game I'll have to buy when it comes out--say on GoG.com--is the original Dungeon Siege. I think it was the best in the series, and that the franchise went downhill quickly after the first one.

It is well known that I do not make mistakes--so if you should happen across a mistake in anything I have written, be assured that I did not write it!

My favorite part of this game is that there is a real sense of power and progression that I didn't feel as much in Diablo 3. I get new upgrades, and my character works differently. Choosing skills is fun, and somewhat intuitive, and also changes my playstyle. This is how an action rpg should really be executed. It's not perfect but it hits the right mix of everything.

avianflu wrote on Sep 21, 2012, 11:22:TL2 is more than different enough in the skilltrees to keep my interest and for me at least, that's what mattered. It is not just like TL1 thankfully.

honestly I am happy to wait for "borderlands "2 to go to 40 bucks or less.

I pre-ordered BL2 for $37.50. Now I gotta buy this too. Was on the fence because I thought the TL2 beta was underwhelming, mainly because of the bland skill trees. Since that appears to have been fixed, and the reviews here are quite good, it sounds like it'll be a great game. Now if only I could have the time to play all these games!!

"The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts." -- Bertrand Russell (I think...)